The watching students pressed into the doorframes while the faculty used their arms as a barrier.
“He’s bleeding through everything we’ve got.”
That one line had my heart thudding so hard my ribs shook, not that it was possible. Heat rolled through me, and for a minute, I wondered if I was sharing some of Rawling’s pain. There was such pressure behind my eyes, and I staggered toward Atticus’s beast who had his back to me. The corridor was becoming too narrow, and I blinked, trying to make my way to Atticus and make him stop.
“We’re losing him.”The professor’s voice was so far away.
I smelled fear and feral energy and Rawling’s blood. People were rearing away from me as if trying to make themselves small. I held one hand up, but my vision blurred and I blinked.My arm was different and covered in something other than my skin. Dear gods, what was happening to me?
I tried to yell Atticus’s name, but what came out was a roar. It swept over the onlookers like a wave, and they braced themselves against the walls.
It’s all right. You did your part. Now it’s my turn.
What? Who said that? Dear gods, I’m not…but I was. I’d found my beast. I’d cry later, but now my bear had a purpose.
Atticus’s wolf snapped his head toward my bear. My bear! She didn’t circle around him but went straight toward him like a battering ram. The wolf dodged, but my bear’s claws caught him as he lunged away. She raked them over his flank, and his beast’s blood spattered on the floor.
Along the corridor, Phelan’s huge wolf didn’t intervene but kept his gaze on us as his chest heaved.
Atticus’s wolf skidded and slid on the slippery floor as he aimed for my bear’s throat. But my beast was having none of that. She swiped him again and pinned him against the wall while a second blow sent the wolf sprawling. My bear placed a paw over his ribs and dipped her muzzle close to the wolf’s ear and growled.
The onlookers froze, perhaps worried my bear would end the wolf. But this fucker had a job and that was to save Rawling’s life.
I took my skin for the first time, and someone draped a blanket over me. Phelan, in human form, raced toward me as Atticus lay on the floor, covered in blood with a deep cut on his cheek. Every time he looked in the mirror, he’d remember what my bear did to him. Good.
Mrs. Ardilla flung open the door. “Either you give blood, Atticus, or watch him die.”
NINETEEN
ATTICUS
I was looking upward as faces peered over me.
Jack was here. Were we still sleeping together? She was glowering, but that wasn’t surprising ‘cause she was often on my ass about something. I was lying on something hard, and I hurt real bad. How was that possible, because my wolf could remove any injury by shifting.
But hehadtaken his fur. Why? Because we had to fight. We must have won because we always did, or he did. I just shouted encouragement.
I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting smell. Was that a bear? And what was I lying in?
Hands yanked me up, and I groaned and put a hand to my cheek. I was naked, so I must have shifted. Jack wasn’t wearing clothes and neither was Phelan, and they both had blankets over their shoulders. Weird ‘cause we were inside near the infirmary.
“Get in there and give any remaining blood you have left.”
What? No. I wasn’t giving my blood to anyone. Why? And why was Phelan so angry?
But as I tried to walk, I toppled forward, and Phelan yanked me back by my long hair.
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing other than you’re the most selfish sanctimonious person I’ve ever met.”
Phelan took my arm and dragged me into the infirmary, but I yelped. One leg wouldn’t support me, and I was… gods… no… I was limping. Someone maimed me.
“What happened?”
“Jack found her beast, a huge fierce beautiful bear who beat the crap out of you, and now you’re giving blood to my mate to save his life, so shut the fuck up and keep your strength.”
I couldn’t shift and run. I tried, but my wolf was hurt like me and needed time to recover. I stank of bear and my beast’s adrenaline as Jack handed me a towel and told me to wrap it around my hips. I didn’t even have the energy to make a dick joke like I used to.
